> So in the wake of all this, you would think that players would be asking themselves, finally: Is it worth it? Are the rewards for cheating really worth the gamble that some day, they could wake up and find out they’d just become Manny or A-Rod, a walking PED punch line whose entire career had been instantly discredited?
> Well, sadly, here’s the truth: None of this will do it. None of this will stop some of these dopes from trying to cheat. Not in baseball or any other sport.
> …
> So somewhere along the line, the price these men must pay for this crime has to grow large enough to force them to feel the pain. Two-month suspensions alone aren’t enough. In-season blood tests aren’t enough. Even public humiliation isn’t enough.
> And it won’t be enough until the suspensions grow longer and the penalties grow stiffer — because, clearly, the thought of losing 50 games worth of pay isn’t scaring the people who need scaring.
Mr. Stark will not be the last one to make such a plea.